Love's Troubles
by Shiva12
Summary: A light story that tells of the most undeveloped love story in the Fast and the Furious...


Rating: PG-13 for some language and mild sexuality  
Archive: Fanfiction.net (This is the only place that I will allow unless I'm asked...)  
Movie: Fast and the Furious/Misc. Movies  
  
Disclaimer: The Fast and the Furious does not belong to me. I hold no rights to it, though I do love the movie. But, the story is mine.  
  
Love's Troubles  
  
***  
Brian looked into her eyes and smiled, despite his unusual uneasiness. He wanted, more than anything else at that moment, to touch her soft skin, or kiss her luscious lips. Instead, he focused simply on her, smiling more and more as she talked more easily.   
  
Life was becoming rougher as he gained Dominic's acceptance and friendship. He knew, in his heart, that it was not possible for Dominic to cause all those truck hijackings. He was too reformed, too straight forward to revert back to his old ways. Unfortunately, the higher authorities did not think so. They wanted him to infiltrate, betray, but... make the deadline. Of course, that was his job: he'd been begging for years to get an undercover job worth his time, and when he finally received it, he becomes friends with the so-called "enemy"!  
  
And then, of course, was the problem of him falling in love with the "enemy's" sister...  
  
"Brian," Mia whispered softly as she tapped his soft, porcelain hand. He snapped from his reverie, flashing her his famous devilish smile. She blushed, noticing where her hand was. She quickly tried to take it away, only to have Brian grab it gently instead, placing it in his hands. Once again, she blushed intensely. In response, he only smiled wider.  
  
She swore for a couple of moments that his eyes were ocean pits, forever bottomless and beautiful. She knew that she was making a mistake in going out with him, risking the anger of her brother and the anger of Vince, her brother's long-time friend, and a man after her heart. But, with Brian, everything just felt right. Despite the problems he'd caused before, she knew that she had jumped for joy internally when he told her, nonchalantly, that they should go out. Flat-out refusing and using her "I don't date my brother's friends" excuse, her heart was simply about to burst... but not from the joy, but from the pain. She wanted to go out with him, kiss him, hold him, do everything that she had been dreaming of since the first day he entered the café and complained about the tuna... but couldn't because of past mistakes. Brian would bring problems, and she was not up for it.  
  
After Vince's blown-out, useless rant, she told herself that this was her chance, her chance to do everything. She took back her negative answer quickly enough.  
  
Now, she was here, sitting in front of him, relishing the sight of him. Attraction had pushed her to say yes, but there was something else there. What it was, she did not know just yet, and she would grant herself the time to find out. She'd wait forever if she had to.   
  
"Um, so what's up with Dom and Letty?" he asked, bringing her back to the painful reality. Mia looked away from his eyes and laughed. Taking her hand, she pushed away strands of dark hair billowing around her face, making it easier for her to view him clearly.   
  
"What about them?" she replied, picking at her appetizer with boredom.  
  
"Dom doesn't seem like the type of guy to go ga-ga over a girl, Mia," he answered, knowing that he had her at that. He watched her chuckle with amusement and then nod with agreement.  
  
Mia sipped some of her water. "True, true," she admitted. "They're story's kinda weird, ya know? They've been through some shit, but they've come out really cool."  
  
"Letty's quiet," he told her out of the blue, and once again she nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Product of the various deaths in her family. She's been through a whole grip of stuff."   
  
Brain ordered some drinks and then their food. As he munched his salad, he questioned her a little more. "So, how'd it start?"  
  
"Letty's always been into cars," Mia began, loving to tell the story of, quite possibly, the most undeveloped love story ever. "She's been into them since she was, like, ten. So, Dom always had her attention. Then, when Letty turned sixteen-"  
  
"-she had Dom's attention," he finished.  
  
***  
  
The summer day was humid. The young girl worked tirelessly in her house, cleaning this, arranging that, dusting all objects in her sight. She heaved a sigh of relief as she sat on her old, gray sofa, thanking God on high for helping her finish the house in time for dinner. Her father would come with hunger, and her mother had not arrived yet from work. A helpful child, she ran to the refrigerator and opened the wide, white door, peering in to stare at the contents. Chicken, milk, eggs... all the essentials of a household. She smiled as she took out the frozen chicken and laid it out on the clean counter, letting it thaw in the heat of the summer's day.   
  
She heard a small stone hit the window of her room as she made her way to the master bedroom. She turned her head, letting her long, black hair mane make contact with her face. She pushed the thin strands of hair away from her chocolate eyes, hearing more stones make contact with her glass window.  
  
"Who the hell is it now?" she whispered to herself as she began running to her unkempt room. The stones were becoming numerous and she noticed the dark, rich texture. Jumping on her old bed, she looked out.  
  
A young boy stood in front of her, smiling widely. "Hey, Letty, get your ass out here!" he commanded with adult attitude. Letty smiled and closed the window, leaving the young boy to begin screaming more and more orders. Soon, he began cursing and she laughed loudly, ignoring his angry pleas. Instead, she jumped from her bed and ran to her garage, opening the rusty door and revealing the antique car her father was remodeling. The kid, Dominic, down the street had a dad, too, that fixed-up cars in his spare time. She smiled as smelled the dusty smell of musk and antiquity. It intoxicated her and she loved it completely.   
  
"I got you now!" he yelled in a childish voice as he came up behind her. A loud scream reverberated throughout the house and the garage as Letty got caught by a surprise.   
  
"Dominic!" she yelled angrily, and she watched the sun-tanned child grin gleefully.   
  
"Hey, I told your ass to come out and you went away," he said as he entered the garage. She followed him inside looked at her dad's tools and parts. She reached out to one, not quite knowing what it was, and felt the smooth texture of the polished metal. She loved cars immensely, even if nobody approved.   
  
Dominic stared at her move around. She'd barely been in the garage, but it looked like she felt right at home. He enjoyed the coolness the mild darkness offered, and reveled in the fact that his father hadn't called him back home yet. He enjoyed the time he spent with the savage, quiet girl down the street, even when she barely spoke. He was silently fascinated by her and he loved the way she moved, like she was going to be caught at any moment. It didn't help that he also found her slightly cute.  
  
"Ew!" he remembered his friend Vince yell when he told him that he thought she was "okay for a girl." Growing up with the ghetto white boy, Dominic knew that the kid was doing it just to make him mad. But he didn't really care. He was really young, only eleven, and girls weren't his thing. Cars were the objects of his affection, and no girl was going to take over that.   
  
"Get out," he heard her whisper and he turned.   
  
"Why?" he asked. "I like the car." Her doe eyes stared up at him. She looked outside, noticing her dad had arrived.   
  
"Get out," she repeated. Dominic took the hint and left, running out of the garage with his signature grin.   
  
"Can you come out and play tomorrow?" he asked her as he ran. She ran outside, despite her anger.   
  
"Maybe," she promised, and then closed the garage door to cook the thawing chicken.  
  
***  
  
"The summers in my neighborhood were a bitch to deal with," Mia said as hunger began to take over her and she truly began to enjoy the food before her. Brian watched her closely, and noticed the way she played with her food first, and then separated the meal, eating pieces one by one, and then chewing ever so slowly, almost as if she did not want him to notice.   
  
The nervousness was soon eased over with comfort. Brian had relaxed since she had begun the story, and he too began enjoying his food. The Cuban restaurant was a great idea and the atmosphere in the place was lively and loud, yet quiet and secret at the same time. His small table was laden with food and drink and he laughed inwardly at the thought of throwing all the food off the table, sensuously picking up Mia and placing her on the table, then begin kissing her whole body with abandon... that, unfortunately, would have to wait till later.  
  
He ordered dessert: two coconut "thingies" as he called them, with cream cheese. He'd heard the soft laugh bubbling from Mia's mouth when he made the order. He laughed also, and turned to her, focusing his attention again on her beautiful eyes. She blushed and momentarily looked away. He needed to stop doing that: searching her with his ocean eyes and great face.   
  
"But the funniest part," she recommenced, "was when the summer of Dom and Letty being sixteen came around. They think I'm so much younger. I'm, what, two years younger? His reaction to the girl, was, well," she mused...  
  
"Priceless."  
  
***  
  
Dominic's attention faded away from the cherry-red car he was working on to the shouts of his friend, Vince, echoing on the hot day. School had just gotten out only a week before, and he had enjoyed the short nights and stuffy days. Working on his car was probably the greatest thing to do: he didn't care about the beach or "fun in the sun". He was quite comfortable in the minimally lit garage and the heat of the day, without having someone bother him with trifles.  
  
He picked up the heavy part easily and examined it closely. By now, he had changed greatly from being a scrawny eleven-year-old, to a tall, handsome, and well-built teenager of sixteen. Working out wasted his time, and instead developed his rippling muscles by working with his father, doing odd, manual-labor jobs, and even helping out with construction every once in a while. Extra money didn't come easy, of course, but he'd managed. Life without Mama was a tiny bit harder and he missed the young woman with the pretty eyes.   
  
"Dude, stop working on the damn car!" Vince ordered as he entered the cluttered garage. Vince had, unfortunately, changed himself. But instead of becoming handsome and filling out, he was a tall, gangly teenager, with acne dotting his semi-attractive face. He came up, playfully punching his friend on the muscled arm. He had been doing the same thing since third grade and Dominic never seemed to complain.   
  
He received a heavy grunt in response. Vince sighed heavily at his friend's restlessness. He, unlike Dominic, was busy having fun with the ladies and attending parties left and right. He loved cars too, but the opposite sex was calling him, begging him to join them.   
  
He pleaded with his friend. "Man, Monica's holding a kick-ass beach party in an hour!" he exclaimed, and received another grunt. "Come on, fool. It's MONICA, man! Do you remember her? Can you imagine that chick with some teeny, tiny bikini bottoms and an even smaller top?" he asked. Dominic looked up briefly and shook his head with a smile. Ah, yes, the beautiful Monica. The curvy, longhaired Latina had caught his eyes since they had started high school.   
  
"Who else is gonna be there?" he asked, wondering genuinely. Vince grinned, a large, cat-like smile, and began to explain.  
  
"Everybody from the neighborhood! We're talking some serious-ass partying. And some serious-ass fucking..." Vince explained, nudging his friend's shoulder.   
  
"Beach party?" Dominic asked. Vince nodded and looked away. "Can I bring somebody?" he questioned. Vince nodded once again.   
  
"I'll come pick you up in an hour," he said, and then ran, waiving at his friend. Dominic shrugged and went into his house, deciding to shower and to change.  
  
Vince came, right on time like he had promised. Dominic was waiting form his outside, and next to him was his younger sister, Mia. The skinny girl fidgeted uncomfortably in the heat of the night and began walking around until Vince had arrived. A small noogie from Vince was all she needed to know that they were heading out.  
  
Vince cramped them all in his raggedy car and sped away, leaving smoke to billow in the hot night.   
  
*  
  
The party was loud and could be heard from miles away, and that was exactly what Mia liked about it. The loud music was throbbing in her ears when she got out. She stayed close to her brother and was soon being introduced to all the eligible, cute, young men and she smiled to herself, thanking God for her good luck. Spotting a friend nearby, she ran from her brother, screaming that she would return in a couple of minutes. Dominic smiled at her response; he knew that she would not see her for the rest of the party.  
  
He was bored, to say the least. The pretty women around him were interesting for a while, but then seeing them constantly was not helping. He was impressed with the changes that occurred in some of the women: Veronica had "filled out nicely", like he put it. Neighborhood girls were blossoming into great-looking young things. He heard a low, feral growl escape Vince's mouth as he spied Monica nearby. He turned to Dominic, looking for some sense of approval. Instead, he was handed a solemn expression of genuine boredom.  
  
"You know what Dom?" he asked. "Get out there and enjoy your goddamned self! There are thousands of chicks out here and you're by the damn finger  
foods. Find yourself some meat, homie!" he gasped. Dominic looked at his friend, registered his outburst with cold calculation, and turned away, walking, leaving his buddy behind in silent protest.   
  
Vince shook his head at him. He had been enjoying high school since he started it: enjoyed the changes, the women. But Dom was another story. His friend suddenly became quiet-handsome, but quiet. He liked to observe others and loved to work on his car, despite the joyful, exciting environment. The only twinkle in his life that was human was Monica, but he seemed to be losing interest in the beautiful female as well. What he needs, Vince concluded, is a good fuck and a good beat down. He smiled at his hilarious notion, but stopped as a bright yellow bikini top walked past him. He briefly gave Dominic's diminishing silhouette the finger before he proceeded to follow the young woman in the bikini. He needed love, too...  
  
Dominic took hold of a cold beer. Her personally did not care if it was illegal. He needed a really good buzz at that moment, no matter where it came from. Truly, he was not starting to like the party. Silently, the music and the dancing had intoxicated him at first. But constant repetition kept him at bay, eventually turning into boredom. He had decided to sit far from everyone and to make himself comfortable by the water, enjoying the wonderful breeze that the waves were emitting. He smiled at the breeze and loved the feeling of cooling down. He turned his head back to the party, and instead locked eyes with a gorgeous girl in front of him.  
  
She was... beautiful. Her hair, long and dark, curled at the edges nicely and she was well toned, fragile and strong at the same time. He devoured her with his eyes, looking over every curve and imagining the feel of her skin. He could not believe that he had decided on something like that just with an image. For some odd reason, he decided, the girl had an air of familiarity and comfort that he had felt before. She looked extremely familiar... he knew the soft angles of her face and the vibrant brown eyes that were staring at him with as much intensity. Yet, at that moment, he could not register a name. Time stood still as begin lifting himself off the sand, throwing the beer bottle behind him, half-full with dull, gold spirit.  
  
She smiled. He knew that smile, also, but the name still failed to register. The familiar air was becoming more recognizable. Yes, he'd grown up with this young woman; she had to have been from his neighborhood. He expected that to give him the much-desired name, but that too failed to produce. Most of the people at the party had grown up with him, also. She could be one of the many girls on the block. He cursed at himself quietly, anxiously wishing to know who the girl was.  
  
"Uh, hey-" he began, but was cut-off mid-sentence as the girl turned her head. She soon turned and left, leaving him alone again on the soft sand. He watched her run away almost carelessly, as if she was enjoying the fact that she'd left him alone. He rubbed his shaven head. By the end of the night he would know the name, number, and address, or he wouldn't sleep. Fuck Monica, he decided as he walked back to the multitudes of high school kids. The party was just beginning, and his quest had begun as well.  
  
As he made his way back, he spied Vince nearby, getting his freak on with three classmates of his. Their sensual movements were graceful and learned, while his friend's were rough and raw in their intensity. Dominic smiled and walked to the large table covered with various foods. Taking a piece of fruit and placing it in his mouth, he munched on it and did not mind the liquid juice traveling down his throat and then soaking into his pure-white wifebeater. Receiving longing looks from some girls nearby, he wiped the juice off professionally with a napkin and then waited for his buddy to come near him. As expected, Vince ran back like a content puppy, a grin the size of Texas plastered on his lips.  
  
"The ladies, the ladies," he whispered to himself as he popped open a bottle of Corona. Enjoying the flowing, smooth taste burning the walls of his throat, he turned his pleasant face to Dominic. He noticed the searching gaze in his friend's eyes and decided to question him about it.  
  
"Who you looking for?"   
  
A good question, Dominic decided. As he lay back against the table and folded his powerful arms, his search was soon becoming much easier as he spotted the girl join a group of friends. Luckily, it involved his sister Mia, who seemed to recognize the new girl in the group. He watched intensely at his sister's surprised expression and the way she lovingly embraced the girl with happiness. He really wanted to hear the expressions of joy, but could not. He watched as his Mystery Girl, as he lovingly dubbed her, moved away from the group. When she began walking, he quickly hit Vince's shoulder in anxiousness.  
  
"Her! Her!" he insisted, pointing to the figure. Vince focused his wavering attention from the food nearby to the feminine figure his friend was almost beating him to death to notice. He squinted, trying his best to make out the features and body of the person in front of him. Quite pleased, he also recognized that she was familiar and took a few steps forward, knowing who the person was. He gaped and widened his eyes and looked back at Dom with a suppressed expression of surprise and slight disgust at the same time.  
  
"Oh man!" he screamed above the loud music, "I know who she is!"   
  
Dom smiled with content and urged his friend to reveal the name. "Who, man, who?" he asked with calm excitement.   
  
Vince's expression turned from surprise to brotherly confidence.   
  
"Letty, baby. That chick is Letty."   
  
*  
  
Mia watched from afar at her brother. He seemed to have stopped moving abruptly, as if shock was coursing through his body. She followed his gaze to the object of his attention. She nodded her head knowingly, recognizing the girl nearby as the fully changed, great-looking Letty from her neighborhood.   
  
Mia herself had been shocked as well. When the teenage girl approached her, she too tried to figure out who the pretty girl was. Familiarity washed over her too, and just like her brother, the name had escaped her. But when Letty spoke, she smiled and laughed out loud, finally knowing who the girl was. Quickly, friendly alarm went through her when she spotted the changes.  
  
The quiet girl was no longer a tomboy. At least that was what Mia thought when she saw Letty clothed in nothing but miniscule Daisy dukes and an even smaller white top. Her hair, almost constantly held in either a messy ponytail or no-nonsense bun, was let down, thin, black strands shaping her pretty, tanned face. She had decided to curl the edges and let it free, loose in the incoming wind. They had hugged, exchanged words of friendship, and then Letty moved on to shock others with her newfound beauty.   
  
Now, she stared at her brother's surprised gape and Vince's even more ruckus laughter at his friend's reaction. Dominic, the stony, tall teen, was eagerly taking in all her movements. Mia began laughing again. She turned away from her brother and began speaking with her friends, knowing that she would remember the reaction for as long as she lived.  
  
*  
Dominic's eyes almost popped out of his round face. Letty? That beautiful, gorgeous, indescribably wonderful-looking creature in front of him was that once savage, quiet, held-back child? He shook his head quickly. Behind him, Vince's laughter filled his ears. He laughed mockingly, enjoying the sight in front of him. Dominic, had, for once, completely been shocked. He remembered that no such shock had coursed hid body since his mother had died... Vince took another look and smiled widely.  
  
"So, uh, whatcha think?" he asked, laughter brimming once again when Dominic gave him a murderous look. Silence ensued. Vince took a closer look to completely confirm Letty's presence. Some time... yup, that was her. She hadn't changed that much, he decided, but he could not deny that the young woman in front of him was not attractive. No, in fact she was almost better than the "yellow bikini" girl. The question, of course, was not whether he was attracted. Far from it, he concluded. Letty was, to him, a person that could not be touched. She was way too silenced for him, and he preferred a lady who enjoyed parties and gatherings instead of peace and cars. She was more suited to Dominic's taste... and his friend was currently staring at her with sensuous possession.  
  
"She's, uh, grown-up, hasn't she?" Dominic asked with a feral grin. Vince's left eyebrow went up in confidence.  
  
He rubbed his hands slowly for warmth. The breeze was now becoming very unpleasant wind. "Hell, yeah," he agreed. He turned away, leaving Dominic to his thoughts. He was going to pursue, and Vince knew it. Dom already had name, number, and address...  
  
Dominic made a decision at that moment. He was tired of just staring, and he was not a man of many words. He felt like a fool on parade just staring at her changes. He was going to approach her, like a friend, comment, get a date, take her to his bed, and screw her brains out. No wait, he thought, that's too far ahead. She might not even want to speak to me.  
  
It had been a long time. Letty had never been far away. She was attending his high school and living in the same neighborhood. With all their short distances, they never spotted each other in school and he rarely saw her. She was busy, like him, paying attention to other things. But he never expected her to change so drastically. True, he never made an effort to go visit her, but that was not his fault. He had changed, too, but naturally. Letty had worked, he could tell, to tone herself to perfection. He'd done everything involuntary. But above it all, there were only a few words to describe what he thought.  
  
He liked the changes. A lot.  
  
*  
  
She watched him from far away. Her pretty doe eyes followed his every moment, and she noticed that he was nearing her, in a Dominic-like way. He was being cautious, careful with the way he was too approach her. She loved the changes-God, he's gorgeous, she thought, as he finally stopped in front of her.  
  
"Hey, Letty," he said in a nonchalant way. She smiled and breathed in sharply.  
  
"Hi," she replied. Time briefly stood still as Dominic took her in completely, finally able to see the girl for all that she was. Her voice was still the same: silently dangerous, but sexy and unrefined. He stood straight, he'd decided long ago that he was not going to be nervous. It was simply Letty, the girl he looked at cars with, the girl he fought with, the girl with incredibly pretty eyes and sensuous mouth... he smiled at the thought. She seemed to be looking at him strangely. He stopped smiling weirdly and stepped closer to her.  
  
He breathed in sharply as he stared at her neck. She still wore the same, cheap, plastic necklace he had given her as a Christmas present years before. His father had forced him to give to her, simply saying that "she's your friend, Dom, and you've got to treat her like one." He remembered throwing the box at her and she catching it deftly, and then grinning at the contents inside. Her hand flew to cover the small trinket. A slight gasp escaped her mouth as he took her hand away from the neck, exposing the necklace once again. Damn, even her neck looked good to him.  
  
The situation was uncomfortable for her. Her friend was in front of her and she hadn't given him a hug! She flew at his thick neck and entwined her hands behind him, embracing him lovingly, radiating friendship and... a bit of something else. She felt, more than saw, him tense up against the hug and she quickly let go, a hurt expression planted firmly on her face.   
  
"Sorry, Dom," she apologized, her face looking down at the sand. Dominic's expression changed from surprise to hurt at his insolence. He altered the mood by laughing, playfully hugging her as an apology. She laughed childishly and hugged him again. They soon began to wrestle like when they were kids and then they were on the ground, trying to playfully overcome each other. She began throwing sand at him and giggling, and he replied with handfuls of his own. She stood and began running, and he followed suit, chasing after her, loving the feeling of the mixed emotions releasing their hold on him and leaving him to have fun like a child. Being a teenager had imposed certain responsibilities on him-on her- and he had forgotten what it was like to run freely, chasing after a friend... a girlfriend...  
  
He caught her after a few moments of frenzied running. She had become fast and agile, leaping from his grasp and running only faster. As he neared her, he flung his arms around her small waist and pushed her to him, holding her almost possessively. She struggled momentarily, trying to see if she could be released from his grasp.  
  
He laughed at her struggle. "I, personally, wouldn't try it," he advised, his deep voice lulling her fierceness. She almost melted against him, and she would have been content to just rest against him, feeling the heat he radiated.  
  
"I ain't you," she whispered as she battled it out against him once again. Now that he had her in his grasp, he squeezed her a little to stop her. She stopped, swearing incoherently and angrily. She then looked down at his grasp and began laughing at their position.  
  
"Do you plan to ever, uh, let me go?" she asked innocently. A sexy smirk appeared slowly on his face as he neared her shoulders with his face, lightly resting his face on her them.  
  
"Do you want me to?"   
  
Silence and a moment of thought. This was not right, Letty decided. Dominic was her friend, and would always be. Yes, he was gorgeous, great, smart, and had an extremely attractive animal sexuality about him that made her go completely crazy. She had seen this boy grow up from the gawky, awkward child to the handsome teenager that was currently holding her waist. She never viewed the possibilities with him in this way before: she actually had a chance to have him all to herself. But they were friends! That was all... sadly, the thoughts almost made her cry. She never had anyone worthwhile to call her own; the idiots of the school had tried, but failed in their attempts. Of course, she blocked the past attempts easily, but someone whom she was attracted to was equally, if not the more, attracted to her. She almost snorted. She did not know if his sudden attraction was a result of the changes she had made. The confusion was consuming her now, eating her slowly, feasting on her pain.  
  
"Do you want me to?" he repeated. She closed her eyes against his question. No, she told herself mentally, I don't ever want you to let me go.   
  
Unfortunately, her answer was contrary. "Yes," she declared quietly. She watched the muscles in his arms ripple as they tensed. He whispered an astonished "oh" and released her carefully, and he watched her walk out of her grasp with dead eyes. It hurt him, strangely enough, to see her back to him. Shaking his head negatively, he turned away from her and began walking the short path back to the part. Hell, he needed to get drunk. Fast.  
  
With almost tearful sadness, Letty watched him tread away from her. "You know why I did it, don't you?" she yelled as he started to run. Hearing her, he stopped, his back still to her.   
  
"No, I don't," he said and began his run again. Letty stared at his movement and became angry. Being stubborn was a virtue at certain times, and she appreciated it now. He was not going to walk away from her without a shameful, embarrassing explanation, no matter what it cost her.   
  
Her legs increased speed as she chased him. "Stop, Dom!" she demanded, frustration pushing the confusion out. "Stop, you son of bitch," she ordered again and again.  
  
Dominic's movements faltered when he heard her swear at him. Anger, too, filled him as he turned with her, his lips pursed with rage and eyes bright with newfound fire. "What the fuck gives you the right to call me a son of a bitch?" he roared at her.  
  
"Fuck you!" she said with the same amount of rage. "Hear me out, stupid," she pleaded, masking the plea with a thick coat of fury. Dominic raised an eyebrow and silently watched her fidget.  
  
"I'm listening," he claimed in a sing-song voice.  
  
Now, nervousness was creeping out on her, and a deep blush patted her cheeks. "Well," she began, "you're a friend."  
  
Both eyes widened in disbelief. "What?" he said. "All that just 'cause I'm a friend?" Embarrassment was also with him, but he restrained it. Only a slight blush covered his tanned, smooth skin... "Letty, get it through your thick head that-"  
  
"Ay, shut up!" she retorted. "I ain't got no thick head, and even if I did, you don't have no right to call me anything, you fuck. You didn't even let me finish. You think I like this? You're probably a damn fool, too. Man, we grew up together! We checked out cars together, fixed them together. So now that I got a cute shirt and some shorts we can suddenly be more than that?" She breathed in deeply. She looked up at him and noticed the faint smile on his lips.  
  
"Nah, girl," he said as he neared her, "I just think you all that." She lifted an eyebrow of hers at his response and laughed suddenly. He came to her and clasped his hands around her exposed waist and forced her to him. "Yeah," he reaffirmed, "definitely all that. You talkin' like we have a serious history. So what if we grew up together? That doesn't give me the right to think that you damn fine?"  
  
"Well," she considered.   
  
"And I can't have fun with you? It's perfectly all right, you know." Letty was becoming comfortable again. He placed his forehead and spoke some other words before bending down slowly and kissing her forehead gently, and then her nose, until he finally reached her mouth. Hungrily taking it, he nibbled at her lower lip and her arms found a way to embrace him. He kissed her once more before releasing her mouth. She growled and it amused him to see her purse her lips in rage. He knew that she wouldn't try anything... but was completely wrong when she got hold of his cotton shirt, scrunched it with her hand, and pushed him down possessively. She kissed him with gusto and enjoyment, and he feasted off of her. The waves crashed behind them and the music intoxicated their ears once again. The water lapped at their ankles but they did not mind as they tasted each other for the first time.   
  
*  
  
Vince stared from far away at his homie kiss Letty. He widened his eyes, blinking every now and then. Next to him, Mia nodded her head approvingly, slapping Vince's head with motherly authority. He howled a grim "ow!" and turned to her, questions in his eyes evident.  
  
"Leave them, fool," she said as she took his hand and led him to the throngs of people amidst the make-shift dance floor. She glanced at her brother and Letty, knowing within her that their relationship, though somewhat shallow in the beginning, would flourish beautifully. Well, not in so many words, she told herself as she walked to the water's edge, enjoying the cold of the water.  
  
Letty and Dominic would survive... and they would do it their way.  
  
***  
  
"So that's what happened!" Brian decided after the story. Mia smiled and nodded, her hair bouncing with life as she moved her head. Her dessert plate had long ago been taken away and she settled for ice-cold water and Brian's beautiful eyes.  
  
"Yeah. She reaches the peak of puberty and then my brother wants her," she sarcastically stated as she drunk her water. Dom and Letty had survived a long time, in her book, and he was still into her. It was quite incredible, Mia realized as she stood from her chair and walked out, grabbing hold of Brian's hand in the process. He'd held her close, kissed her...  
  
She drove him to his house, all the while enjoying the feeling of control as she gripped the wheel of the car. When they had arrived, he'd gotten out and led her inside. She tensed momentarily, but a sly kiss on her collarbone relaxed her instantly. The kisses became more hurried, to her approval, and she was soon sprawled out on the floor, his weight on top of hers, his voice repeating her name over and over.  
  
Mia sat and wondered about her relationship with Brian. Would it last? Would he love her as she loved him? Questions circled in her mind, but they were soon forgotten. Why ask? Fate had a pesky way of working.  
  
Yes, it did.  
  
Finis  
  
( Candyangel67, 2001  



End file.
